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October 26, 2005

WS3: White Sox 7, Astros 5 (14)

Damn! Now that's a baseball game! ... Thousands of words could be written about the longest (by time; 5:41) World Series game in history (Jayson Stark is always fun with games like this), but I'll mention only a few things (being tired at work after not getting to bed until 2:45):

Houston's offense is pathetic. ... After Jason Lane led off the bottom of the fourth with a home run (which actually hit off the in-play side of the yellow line in left center), the Astros sent 47 batters to the plate (over 11 innings) and managed only one hit.

Thanks to a 11 walks, two errors and a HBP, the Astros left two men on in the 8th (when they tied the game 5-5, after blowing a 4-0 lead), three on in the 9th (man on 3rd with one out), 2 on in the 10th, 2 on in the 11th (they had 1st/2nd with 1 out), and 2 on in the 14th.

I was surprised Roy Oswalt was left in to face a WS-record 11 batters (and throw a career-high 46 pitches) in the 5th inning. In fact, Phil Garner didn't have anyone warming up until the 11th batter was stepping in. Oswalt's implosion meant his team was trailing by only one run, but still ...

Why did Ozzie Guillen call on Dustin "I haven't pitched in 25 days" Hermanson in the 8th? That couldn't have been his best option. Hermanson gave up the only hit Houston recorded after the 4th inning, a game-tying double to Lane.

I continue to be amazed that no World Series game has ever gone 15 (or more) innings. Game 2 in 1916 (Red Sox 2, Dodgers 1; Babe Ruth CG) is the only other contest to last fourteen innings.

In the bottom of the 7th, with Chicago up 5-4, this was put on the screen:

1 team has come back from a 0-3 deficit to win a post. series

I expect (nay, demand) to see several Red Sox montages before and during Game 4 tonight.

Redsock:You're dead right: both Garner and Ozzie were possessed by the demon Grady last night. Garner's stubborness with Oswalt was crazy (wasn't it obvious early that he didn't have it? Unless he was listening to Fox, which was so busy explaining how great Oswalt was that they neglected to notice that he was getting hit hard...) and I'm betting that Ozzie gets fired within two years if not one. He obviously is a Joe Morgan "manage by your gut" type, and when they run out of luck, they run out of jobs. In fact, keeping Hermanson on the roster when it meant keeping McCarthy, who is terrific, off is classic Jimy/Grady nonsense.